ASHEVILLE…A YEAR LATER!

Wow, what a difference a year makes!  Last year at this time, we were getting ready to pack up the truck and trailer and head to Asheville, North Carolina to meet friends from Georgia and camp at a campground called Mama Gertie’s Hideaway Campground (love that name!)

We were so excited because we had reserved campsites on the top tier of the campground, which means the TOP of the mountain!  Our sites were right on the edge of the mountain, with private decks and swings, and views that looked spectacular!

As time got closer to us heading out for the trip, the weather forecast for Asheville didn’t look good!  It looked like four straight days of rain, and none of the four of us wanted to spend four days sitting in our trailers (even if we were on top of a mountain!)…so we decided to cancel our reservations….LITTLE DID WE KNOW!

That weekend was the weekend that hurricane HELENE hit the United States – and MUCH of Asheville and the surrounding areas had major damage – including our campground!  We are so thankful that we had cancelled, and at the same time, were so sad for the people in those areas who were so negatively affected!

Fast forward one year later…Mama Gertie’s allowed us to use the cancelled reservation for one year, and if we couldn’t make it, we would just lose that money we had paid (about $300)…the year was up on the last weekend in September, but the four of us couldn’t go that weekend, but could go this past weekend (the first weekend in October) – hoping they would let us extend that credit one more week, we called and they were amazing!  We could use our credit!  The only thing that would be different  is that we weren’t able to have the PREMIUM mountain view sites…

We were still going to be on the top tier, which is the top of the mountain, so that was still exciting and, after making reservations, off we went!!!

It’s an eight hour drive, so we decided to stop for the night at the KOA in Bristol, Tennessee – it’s a nice, quiet campground and we had a great site!

After a nice dinner in the trailer, and a great night’s sleep, we loaded all back up and headed out for an hour and a half drive to Asheville!  So excited to see the campground and enjoy God’s creation on the mountain!

As the drive began, Leonard noticed that the CHECK ENGINE light had come on in the truck!

Our truck had just been to the dealership the week before for its 60,000 mile service!  But the light stayed on…

We kept driving, and hoping for the best as we headed over the mountain on I-26 from Bristol to Asheville, pulling the Airstream!  All was well…

As we approached our destination, we looked to see if there was a dealership near where we would be.  AND GOD PROVIDED!  About 15 miles from our campground was Sunshine Chevrolet – Leonard called and explained our situation and asked if we could stop by and they could at least take a quick look for us.

We pulled in and  a wonderful man named Sergio came out and hooked up the diagnostic “thing – a -ma – jig”  to get an idea of the problem.  Following Sergio into the dealership, we were hoping that it was just something small …Fast forward a bit – Sergio said we were okay to drive to the campground and also to make it back home to Pittsburgh at the end of the weekend…then he paused and said “maybe I should have one of my mechanics look at it”.  TWO mechanics came out to go take a look under the hood.  We waited inside and time ticked away…they were still outside…then we saw them walking back in and tried to read the expressions on their faces.  As they approached us, it was obvious that it wasn’t just a minor little thing.  Especially when they said these words…”IT’S BAD!”

A fan clutch pulley froze and SHREDDED the belt, taking out the fan temperature control!  I didn’t understand any of that, but the one thing I DID understand was the word SHREDDED!  And then they held up that belt – SHREDDED was an understatement – it looked like something ate the belt!

The issue was going to make the truck susceptible to overheating!  We certainly wouldn’t make it back to Pittsburgh…at that moment, we just needed to make it to our campground!  They assured us that we could get to the campground, and then come back Monday to have it repaired – IF the parts could be ordered and come in!

One of the mechanics said to me, when I asked “are you SURE we can make it to our campground?”, “you’ll be fine, as long as you aren’t going up any big hills”…

WELL..as I said at the beginning, our campsite was at the TOP of a mountain!  In fact, we had received an email from the campground telling us that we would have to follow a driver up to our campsite because it was a TWELVE PERCENT GRADE to the top!!!!!!!

We were told to just take it easy and go slow (which is the ONLY way to go pulling a trailer up a 12% grade!)…we creeped up the mountain road and made it to our campsite at the top.  The truck did overheat a bit, but we were safe!

What a BEAUTIFUL place and a BEAUTIFUL campground!

The four of us got our trailers set up, and took a deep breath after making it up there safely!  God is so good that He protected us on the 8 hour drive to Asheville!  One thing we realized very quickly is that it wasn’t a bad place to be “stuck” for the weekend with a “broken” truck!

After a wonderful, relaxing night, with “chef” Leonard cooking on the Blackstone, we slept peacefully with the windows open and the cool mountain air!

Saturday came and we headed off to Catawba Falls for a hike. Here is the description of the hike:

“The headwaters of the Catawba River are beautifully scenic. Just east of Asheville, the river tumbles through a rolling forest, cascading in a series of waterfalls and flowing over a mossy riverbed set in a shady, scenic stretch of the Pisgah National Forest. This fantastic day hike explores waterfall after waterfall in a sun-dappled valley, hiking just over two miles through a shady forest to the seeping wall of vibrant green moss and tendrils of water known as Catawba Falls.”

Sounds beautiful doesn’t it – well, it was!  The trail starts immediately in the woods, and it was a gorgeous day for a hike!  What we DIDN’T know is that the hike to the falls is pretty much entirely uphill!  NO problem!  It was a gradual hill, and not difficult – winding through the woods, with a creek on the left side, we were amazed at the beauty of it all!

There were parts of the trail that had been washed away from last year’s hurricane, and was shocking to see !

As we approached the waterfall, we could hear the sound of the water, and wondered what it would look like – We were shocked at how beautiful it was and also how “tall”!  Just when we thought we were done with the hike, we saw a sign and some steps continuing up the hill.  Guess how many steps?  To the top of the waterfall? After walking uphill to get there?

Ready?  FIVE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, 580!

Before I go any further, let it be known that I have one knee that’s not the best, and Leonard had a massive heart attack 6 years ago..AND we are 63 and 66 years old…SO, you can probably guess whether or not we did all 580 steps!  We climbed about 200 and then stopped!  Our friends walked all 580 of them, and we were as happy as can be to cheer them on and wait for them on the rocks by the BOTTOM of the waterfall!

What a beautiful hike it was and a great day to be outside enjoying God’s creation with great friends!

Sunday came, and our friends had to head back to Atlanta – after saying goodbye, we just relaxed the rest of the day because we were “stuck” at the campground – we couldn’t use the truck until Monday morning when we headed to the dealership – IF the parts arrived!

I just want to say here that GOD IS SO GOOD TO US!  He has protected us on all of the trips we have taken – no really bad weather, no flat tires, no real issues with truck or trailer, many miles in all different places..We are so grateful!  And this time was no different!

The parts came in Monday morning and the truck made it to the dealership with no issues!

The truck was fixed by 4:00 pm that day, and the best part is that every penny of it was covered under warranty – all we had to give them was a signature!!!  After leaving the dealership, we went back to our amazing campsite for our last night and enjoyed dinner in the trailer and one last look at the scenery from the top of the mountain!

Tuesday was another beautiful day, and it took 8 ½ hours to get home, and we had NO issues with the truck or the trailer – praise GOD for His provision and protection again!!!  It was a wonderful time away, but I have to say it was GREAT to pull into the driveway at home, safe and sound!

These “yellow submarine adventures” are always fun, and we know that we can expect the unexpected!  That’s especially true for this trip!

As always, we are looking forward to our next adventure – it will be Mount Dora, Florida in November!  Stay tuned!!

Until next time!